Hicks: Gulf Coast fans stay loyal to 'our game'

CHIP ENGLISH/CorrespondentGalvin McCann shows off a grill full of chicken and ribs while tailgating at Ladd-Peebles Stadium on Saturday before the Senior Bowl.As has been the case for most of its 60 seasons in Mobile, the Senior Bowl was a sellout Saturday.

Tommy HicksBut college football and NFL fans along the Gulf Coast don't attend just the game, they make a point of going to practices and other events, as Friday's Meet the Players session of the Senior Bowl Experience proved.

That's because, as the well-done ad campaign for this year's game suggested, it's our game.

Of course, it wasn't the people in Mobile who needed to be reminded of that. They have always held that belief. From the day the game moved to Mobile after its first game in Jacksonville to Saturday's sellout, the Senior Bowl always has been considered a part of the city's history, tradition and fabric.

It is Mobile's game and has been for 60 years. Reminders weren't necessary. Until this year.

Only in the months leading up to this year's game, when Jacksonville made a pitch to reclaim the game, was there cause to feel otherwise. Only when the game was shopped around was there any reason to believe it would leave Mobile.

A new three-year contract has been signed, complete with a pair of three-year options, but it doesn't erase the possibility that other cities could still make a bid to claim the game. A Jacksonville representative reportedly said in November he didn't believe the quest for moving the Senior Bowl there was over. The contract allows for a $20,000-per-remaining-year buyout as long as officials are presented a nine-month notice.

As such, the 2011 game could be moved for $40,000 and nine months notice.

But there were no known boycotts of ticket sales, no protests at Saturday's game. Instead, the people of the area did what they have always done: supported the game.

That's a loyalty that's hard to find, the kind built by families making it an annual event and of fans traveling here to be a part of what it represents. It's also based on civic pride, a pride that withstood a slap in the face just a few months ago.

The economic impact the game creates for the area is well-documented and important. And it's a fact there are cities with bigger, more impressive stadiums, cities with larger populations from which to draw fans. If the game was created this year, Mobile wouldn't be among the top 10 contenders for the game.

But there are also realities that favor Mobile, not the least of which is 60 years of devoted support. Yes, it's a game and an event and, economically speaking, a big boon for the area. But it's more than that. It is, as the ad campaign suggested, ourgame, and that meaning goes beyond contracts and legal obligations. It is a game and event that has been nurtured here, a game and event that has grown here, and those things shouldn't be forgotten or trivialized.

The ad campaign, its message and timing obvious, also described the Senior Bowl as "One Game, One Goal, One Day in Mobile." But it's more than one day, more than 60 days of games. A lot more.

It is, as the campaign pointed out, "your game." It should remain that way. As the Ladd-Peebles Stadium public-address announcer said Saturday night in a statement that didn't go unnoticed, again for its timing and meaning, it should be here "now and forever."